Sometimes life doesn't go according to plan. Sometimes you find yourself on a road you never imagined you'd travel. Sometimes it can scare the pants off you. This is the story of how our little family came to be, continues to grow and how we (attempt to) manage the chaos.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Here we are - E's 2nd birthday already. It's so hard to believe that an entire year has gone by. We had a very busy last week and weekend so I'm a little behind on posts - forgive me, please.

Last Wednesday, E had his EGD with biopsies of his stomach and upper intestines. The doctor said everything looked great and there were no obvious problems. He had suspected celiac disease or ulcers so we were very grateful to rule both of those things out. Remarkably, E gained just over 2 pounds since his last appointment in February. That's his biggest gain in that amount of time ever. The biopsies revealed an inflammatory response. In other words, a very generic diagnosis with a very easy trial treatment - Prevacid. We will see Mr. GI doc again in May to reweigh and reassess. For now, it looks like E is finally going to start gaining and catching up.

Here's our cutie on surgery day in his fashionable, teeny, tiny hospital gown:

Thursday, the 24th, was our family day - one year to the day that E joined our family. We started out by having a family portrait done and then had E's 2 year old pictures done - he was definitely less cooperative than last year, but we got some great shots.

April 24, 2007 - First Family PictureApril 24, 2008

After pictures, we had a nice lunch at the mall food court and went to the zoo for a couple of hours. We are lucky to have a really wonderful, small zoo nearby.

We ended the week on Saturday with a great birthday party! Cheetos, pizza and cake - how could the day NOT be great!!

Two years ago today, my little boy was born. I've looked back at my old calendar to try and figure out what I was doing, but to be honest, I don't really know. I guess it really doesn't matter much - the wheels were in motion whether we knew it or not. We were meant to share each others' lives and that's why we are together now. I've been thinking a lot about E's birth mom and wondering if she has thought of him today. I pray that whether or not she has, that she is living peacefully and I am grateful to her for choosing life for him.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

We are day 2 into our week of "vacation". I have never in my life had a paid vacation, so this is pretty cool for me. We are feverishly working on cleaning house, garage, storage, etc., getting ready for our big rummage sales and fundraising event. We're also getting ready for E's 2nd birthday party this Saturday. Yes, despite my best intentions, I have gone terribly overboard with it all - I figure we have an extra year to make up for since this is his first party at home.

On the adoption front, fingerprints are done. Same 3 elderly security guards working the entrance of our local Department of Homeland Security office - funny little group of men! We were two of 4 people in the place which is drastically different from last time. I fed the meter for 2 hours and we were out in 15 minutes! Finally, a government process that doesn't take an entire day.

I also contacted USCIS regarding E's citizenship case as it has been just over 6 months since we filed the application. Our receipt letter stated that these cases were taking 6 months to process, so I figured I'd check into it. They are now beginning to process November applications, so E's should be rolling on (we filed in October). It takes 60 days from the beginning of processing to receive a ruling so that means we should hear something in the next month. YAY!!!!

Tomorrow will be a bit of a trying day for our family as E is sceduled for a minor surgical procedure at 9:00 a.m. Please keep him in your prayers that he sails through with no complications and very little discomfort. I am especially on edge about this whole thing in light of the events of 2 weeks ago. If all goes well we should be home by late afternoon or early evening.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Our hearts have lead us to the path and we are fighting to find our way to our next child. This is an intimate look into the possible future life of a special needs orphan who does not find their forever family.

Yes, this is the same country E is from and yes, this is real. Please take a moment to remind yourself how lucky you are and perhaps consider if there is anything you can do to help break the cycle and change some one's fate. I encourage you to read the Wright Family's Blog in it's entirety - they are an amazing group of people bringing a lot of good to a lot of people around the world.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Yesterday, we received our USCIS Biometrics Appointment Notification. We're due to be fingerprinted April 22 at 2:00p.m. This came as a huge shock, actually, because we just submitted our I600A a few weeks ago and haven't even sent in our homestudy yet. Strangely, April 22 last year was a very special day for us because we were in the air on our way to meet and bring home our precious, little boy! Coincidence?? Maybe, maybe not. We also just so happen to be on vacation next week so it really works out very well.

I have added a timeline to the sidebar so you can see which steps we've completed (and so I can keep track of these all important milestones). Now to get my hard-working hubby's hands in shape by next Tuesday so they are able to actually get prints. I think this time, I'll frisk him when we get out of the car - last time he inadvertently left a small knife in his pocket - not too cool when walking into the USCIS Center. I don't recall the guards being real impressed by that - we thought it was kind of funny, though.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

I have aged.....10 years at least in the last 2 days. Following a wonderful weekend of playing outside and having great fun, E developed a very low fever Sunday evening. He is cutting 2 year molars and was acting normal in every other way, so I did what I'd like to think most mom's would do - I gave him some Motrin and put him to bed. At 3 a.m. we were awakened by one, strange cry - Moms, you know the one - it's not scared, hurt, angry or sad - it's that weird sound that you can't identify. We both got out of bed and found our little guy having a seizure in his crib. I consider myself pretty medically intelligent and quite level headed in the face of an emergency and I will tell you that I crumbled and completely lost my head. There is nothing that can describe the fear and the helplessness that goes through you at a time like that. I stood, sobbing and hysterical in the middle of my living room holding my baby and I had no clue what to do. His seizure lasted all of 2-3 minutes, but it was the next 30 that were even harder. He was totally limp and unresponsive, his pupils were dialated and fixed, he wouldn't look at anything or anyone or turn to sound or light, he wouldn't pull back when pinched. I still hear the loud moan he kept doing and it sends chills down my spine.

By the time we arrived via EMS at the hospital he was beginning to show some signs of life and within about 5 hours he was inching closer to normal; exhausted, but normal. We were admitted and it turns out he has influenza. Not "the flu" like everyone thinks with the stomach problems, real influenza - the one you get vaccinated for. He, like thousands of others, has the strain that was not in the vaccine this year. Really, there is nothing you can do, but treat the fevers and keep hydrated and ride it out, so that's what we are doing. The doctor expects a complete recovery in about 7-10 days and has given us about a 33% chance that we will see another seizure in the future if he has a strange infection or high fever.

I was, once again, amazed by the bravery and resilience of my little child. He put up with all the poking and prodding like a champ. He spent nearly 39 hours in that bed in my arms and didn't fuss a whole lot. In the very early morning hours today he was saying "done, done" as soon as a nurse walked in before she even started messing with him.

We are home now, showered, bathed, fed and E is resting comfortably. I'm not sure if I will be able to put him to bed tonight as if nothing ever happend - we'll see.

People may think I'm nuts, but yes, I took pictures of him - I figure moments are moments whether they're good, bad or otherwise and this was definitely a major occurrance in all of our lives. Here's my brave, little soldier:

I was trying to get his thumb out - after 5 trys, the only place they could get his IV was in his thumb-sucking hand - very upsetting for him!

About Me

I am a happy wife and lucky mom to four very special kids. If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years it's that life never goes as planned - and that's okay by me! feel free to email us: ksfenske@gmail.com

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For six long years we've held her tightly in our hearts. Leaving her behind in her orphanage was the hardest thing we ever had to do. We've fought like hell to be allowed to bring her home & promised her that we'd never give up.

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Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have which once you have got it you may be smart enought to see it is what you would have wanted had you known..... ~Garrison Keillor